Franklin Resources Inc. Has $769,000 Stock Holdings in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) by 3.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,482 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,304 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Ardmore Shipping worth $769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the second quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Ardmore Shipping by 2,906.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 2,906 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

Ardmore Shipping stock opened at $11.99 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.57, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $501.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $12.45 and its 200-day moving average is $16.95. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a 12 month low of $10.86 and a 12 month high of $23.44.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is 20.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ASC. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Ardmore Shipping from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Fearnley Fonds raised Ardmore Shipping to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.00.

Ardmore Shipping Company Profile

Ardmore Shipping Corporation engages in the seaborne transportation of petroleum products and chemicals worldwide. The company's fleet consists of 22 owned vessels including 21 Eco-design and 1 Eco-mod vessel, and four chartered-in vessels. It serves oil majors, oil companies, oil and chemical traders, chemical companies, and pooling service providers.